Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

happy that everyone escaped injury.” Choking up quickly, she rushed to continue before she became a blubbering mess. “You have no idea how scared I was that evening.”
    A moment later when Erica still clung tightly to Marshall, he sent his friend and boss a questioning glance. The amused look on Kevin’s face was hard to miss. “Um, Erica, if you don’t let go of me, your fiancée might not let me live long enough to see your wedding,” Marshall stated in a light chuckle as he attempted to slowly extract her away from him.
    Erica, who had found herself very emotional, sniffed slightly, as she released Marshall from the hug. “I’m sorry,” she whispered with a small smile on her lips, and then turned on her heel very quickly to face Kevin.
    “If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Don’t take it out on poor Marshall!” she stated sternly while glaring at him.
    Kevin ignored her glare and sauntered over to stand in front of her, holding up a tissue for her. “I am not mad, love, and even if I was, I am damn sure it would not be at you! Now, as for ‘poor Marshall’ over there, that might be a different story!” Erica could easily see the grin on his face, and knew he was teasing her. She quickly wiped her eyes. She had the remainder of the team waiting to thank her personally.
    By the time Erica arrived at the end of the line, she found herself spent and extremely emotional. It was very sweet of the team to want to thank her, and she accepted their gratitude and had hugged each one. Replaying in her head that awful night with the nightmare was playing havoc on her emotions. She would have to get herself pulled together before arriving at the committee meeting.
    Kevin was at her side immediately as she finished up with the last team member. “There is an empty office where you can fix yourself up before heading down to the meeting,” he gently whispered in her ear, and then took a finger and wiped away a tear. “Come, I’ll show you.”
    After Erica had a few minutes to pull herself together and touch up her face, she and Kevin headed for the elevator. On the ride down, he casually stated, “I do believe you might very well be the one and only human female on this planet who will look a vampire straight in the eye and issue demands to him.”
    Erica realized he was speaking of her reaction to him earlier, and how said reaction must have looked to the remainder of the team. Kevin was the boss, and she had allowed her temper to show itself earlier.
    “I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of your coworkers. I shot my mouth off before thinking,” she softly apologized.
    Kevin brought her chin up, so he could see her face. “Please don’t apologize. I find it humorous and refreshing. I don’t want someone that is a doormat. I want someone who will stand up to me every now and then. It helps keep me in line.” He finished with a kiss, and then flashed Erica his famous smile. “Please don’t change. I love you just the way you are.”
    As they stepped out of the elevator, they walked arm in arm to the building being used for the committee meetings.
    Strolling down the sidewalk, Kevin glanced over to Erica. “Do you know the top two things I love about you?”
    “No, but I have a feeling you will fill me in,” Erica replied, as they continued walking.
    “The first is that you are not afraid to stand up for something you believe in. The second is that you will not allow blame to come upon someone who you feel isn’t responsible. Those two things tell me a lot about your character, Erica. That is the first thing I fell in love with.”
    The couple was quickly approaching the building, which housed the committee meetings, so the discussion was dropped for the moment. Kevin wrapped his arm around Erica just a little tighter as they entered the building, the receptionist waving them on through. It was actually the same building used by the council board, and Erica’s committee used a different room. As the meeting started, she was surprised and amazed to learn that she had missed a lot during her absence. Construction teams, plumbers, and electricians had already been awarded contracts for the job, and construction had already been started. The first two apartments would be finished by the end of the day, and the third and fourth would be finished within another two days. A groundskeeper had also been employed to set up the walkways with the necessary greenery. Popular opinion on