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

husband was an alcoholic, and became abusive at times when he indulged. The bruises she sported at least once a week were testimony enough. After the night she had endured last night, she could use a friend.
    As she walked in the classroom, she noticed Kevin watching for her. It was unusual for her to run late.
    The second she strolled through the door, Kevin felt like he had been sucker punched in the gut. The cold, black fury that threatened to overpower him forced him to suck in a deep breath and count to fifty before releasing. Erica spotted an empty seat next to him, and attempted to smile brightly as she headed his way.
    “Good morning,” she greeted him in a forced cheeriness, and then sucked in a silent, deep breath against the pain as she slid into the empty seat next to him.
    He sent her a look that instantly told her he wasn’t fooled by her cheeriness. “Morning,” he grumbled in reply.
     
    * * * *
     
    One look at her face assured him she was in pain. As the professor addressed the class and started his lecture, Kevin called upon his extra keen senses to assess her injuries. He had observed her wrapping an arm around her ribs as she took her seat. Yes, there was definite damage to her ribs, he quickly noted to himself. That fact alone made his temper threaten to explode, and he took a moment to wrestle it back down. As his nostrils flared on a deep inhale, the scent of fresh blood hit him hard. Another deep inhale confirmed it was coming from two different sources. The first was from her arm, and just the thought of what the cause could have been had him seething. Had the bastard cut her? The other location seemed to stem from her monthly, and he quickly cast that information aside. She was a human female, after all.
    He closed his eyes, praying for an excuse just to touch her. With one touch, he could be in her thoughts in a heartbeat, easily accessing all feelings, thoughts, memories, and emotions. Unfortunately, he had to be touching a person in order for this process to work. After what he suspected she’d had to endure last night, the last thing she would want was someone touching her, no matter how casually. He sat back in his seat and crossed his legs at the ankles as he concentrated on attempting to read her emotions anyway. It was a long shot, more like a total impossibility, but it wasn’t like he had anything else better to do. He didn’t need to be empathic to feel the pain radiating off of her, it seemed to be coming from almost everywhere on her body. What in the hell had this woman endured last night? One way or another, he vowed to come up with an excuse after class to make skin contact, knowing then all would be revealed.
    His mind quickly fell into a familiar fantasy. Erica was kneeling on the bed in front of him, naked, her hands resting on the top of her thighs. Her head was bowed, her long auburn hair cascading down her shoulders and back.
    He walked over to her and gently ran his hand down her bare arm. “You are truly beautiful, Erica,” he whispered in awe as he took in her body from head to toe.
    She looked up at him, and the ethereal beauty radiating from her took his breath away. A more beautiful sight he had never seen. Her breasts, while sitting high upon her chest, stood straight at attention, her nipples begging for his attention. He reached over and gently caressed one, as he leaned forward to capture her mouth. He sipped her lips gently at first, enjoying her taste. But that only lasted a moment and he had to have more. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, requesting entry. She opened immediately, but before he’d had time to act, she bit down on his lower lip. He pulled back in surprise to see her grinning playfully at him. So that is how she wants to play.
    “Be careful my darling, I might want to retaliate.” He wrapped his free arm around her waist and brought her up tightly against his body, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. He enjoyed the feel of her hard nipples poking at his chest. He could smell her arousal and couldn’t wait until he could dip his tongue in her juices.
    The tone of the professor’s voice changed slightly, bringing Kevin out of his musings. Class was almost over. Good, maybe Kevin could get the answers he needed.
    He glanced over to the seat next to him and frowned. Erica was currently doing her very best to pay attention to the professor and ignore him. He just barely withheld a chuckle. Once class was dismissed, he