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

planned to have all of her attention, one way or another. He wasn’t leaving until he had the answers he needed. He knew without invading her thoughts that the monster she was married to was responsible for her state. He knew the monster was slowly destroying the body he loved so very much. Oh, Erica was unaware of his feelings. He had done a great job of keeping her in the dark in regards to his personal feelings for her. He continued being her rock of support, all the while desperately trying to persuade her to get away from that monster she was married to. That monster who was destroying the woman Kevin would gladly give up his own life for. It was a bizarre enough situation that she was married to a vampire. Oh yes, Kevin knew what he was. He had done his own investigating. The reason he knew Shawn was a vampire was, well, because Kevin himself was a vampire. However, he never for one minute considered himself the monster that Shawn was. Kevin would never, ever harm any woman, let alone one that was as sweet and nice as she was. And that body, whoa! Kevin had dreamed of all the things he would love to do with her body. He had dreamed of how she would shutter and scream out as her orgasm took over her body. He had dreamed of how good her cream would taste on his tongue as he brought her to climax with his mouth. Yes, it was easy to envision all of the things he would love to do with her body, and he guaranteed she would find each of them pleasurable.
    As soon as class was dismissed, he glanced over to her still sitting in her seat. With calmness he wouldn’t have believed possible, he asked her, “Would you like to join me in the garden? You look like you could use a soda.” He flashed a smile her way, and was rewarded with a blush as he heard her heart beat pick up speed. She wouldn’t say no. The garden he referred to was actually a picnic area outside the student lounge, amid beautiful trails of flowerbeds along both sides. With birds chirping and squirrels coming right up to you looking for a morsel of food, it was a very peaceful setting to go and forget about current problems, even if it was temporary. Erica found the gardens to be peaceful and relaxing, making it one of her favorite spots. When they sat down at the picnic tables, it was as if the world stood still, and they were completely alone.
    “Sure,” she replied as she inhaled sharply rising from her seat.
    They walked silently down the hall. Kevin stopped and grabbed a Coke from the soda machine, and had caught back up to her before she even realized he had stopped. As they slipped outside, Erica led the way to an unoccupied picnic table under a tree. Kevin waited until she was seated, opened her soda, and then handed it to her. After watching her all morning, knowing she was in pain, he found his otherwise easy disposition to be unsettled. His mind had worked nonstop during class coming up with all sorts of scenarios as to what had happened to her last night.
    He took a seat across from her, and without even thinking first, he snarled, “What the hell happened to you?” He winced as he instantly regretted his choice in words, the harshness coming through loud and clear.
    Erica glared over to him and scowled. “And here I thought I’d put myself together fairly well, considering all things.” She instantly threw him a look that clearly stated, “I am not in the mood for a lecture!”
    Kevin sucked in a deep breath and prayed for patience as he reached over to gently place his hand on top of hers, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. The second their skin touched, he immediately jumped into her mind. Five seconds later he heard his own sharp intake of breath, as Erica’s memories of last night’s events were now his memories, also. Pulling from some unknown reservoir of inner strength, he calmly stated, “I apologize for being so harsh. Are you okay? You look to be in pain.” It was quite easy to show real concern for her after what he just witnessed from her memories, she was lucky to be moving at all today.
    “Bad night,” Erica replied.
    “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently, allowing his thumb to gently rub over the backside of her hand. He seriously doubted she would tell him everything, but wanted to give her the opportunity.
    “Not really, I just need you to be a friend right now,” she responded as her eyes glazed over. She turned her hands over and clasped onto his tightly. “Can you do that for me?” The