Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers Book 1)

BLOOD KISSES

Nightwalkers
Book 1

H.N. Sieverding

Erotic Romance

Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com

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A Secret Cravings Publishing
Book

Erotic Romance

Blood Kisses

Copyright © 2013 H.N. Sieverding

E-book ISBN: 978-1-61885966-2

First E-book Publication: November 2013

Cover design by H. N. Sieverding

Edited by Tabitha Bowers

Proofread by Rene Flowers

All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Secret Cravings Publishing

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I would like to thank all my
readers. You are the people I write for
so thank you for reading my books! And a
huge thanks to my beta readers and greatest fans, Leta Fisher and Jennifer
Rhodes. I love you ladies! Lastly, I’d like to thank Tricia Andersen and
my family and friends. Thank you all for
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BLOOD KISSES

Nightwalkers Book 1

H.N. Sieverding

Copyright ©
2013

Ashleigh
typed quickly, her eyes glued on the screen of her laptop as she typed.

The fire crackled, the calm sound drastic compared to the
heavy, breathless sounds escaping her lips. Drake’s kisses wandered down to her
breasts, his hands grabbing her knees and—

"Hey!"
Natalie jumped in front of the screen, scaring Ashleigh. She laughed at
Ashleigh's reaction. "Whatcha doin'?"

Ashleigh quickly minimized the word document so that Natalie couldn’t see
what she was working on. "Writing."

"Writing? Looks to me like you're just drooling over Caleb
again." Natalie pointed at the screen, which showed the shirtless lead
singer of Armageddon, Ashleigh’s favorite band. A giant smirk filled his lips
as he struck a flirty pose for the camera.

"I
wasn't." Making a sour face, Ashleigh saved the file and shut her laptop. The
surface was covered in pink skull stickers that sparkled under the harsh lights.

Natalie’s
eyes snapped up to a handsome man walking past them. It was rare to get any
good eye candy in the old book store, so Natalie’s eyes couldn’t help but
follow him.

"I’m
ahead of the deadline, so that’s good." Letting out a tired sigh, Ashleigh
looked over at the man too. He was waiting in line at the checkout, his tall,
muscular frame towering over the people near him. "I think Gramps needs
help."

She
sent Natalie a cocky grin. When she didn't answer, Ashleigh spoke cheekily, “Why
don’t you go over there and help that guy pick out a good romance novel, like
Nightwalkers
, instead of eye fucking
him."

"Well,
certainly…" Natalie playfully clasped her hands together in a praying
motion. "Victoria."

Shaking
her head, Ashleigh stood up and shoved her laptop in her bag. "Stop
calling me that."

"Come
on," Natalie chuckled as Ashleigh walked over with her toward the desk. "Don’t
you want an ounce of Victoria’s fame?"

"I
do
have it." A sideways frown
filled Ashleigh's lips. This subject annoyed her. She whispered, "I am
well aware of her fame and her cult following—which I love and is awesome—but I
like things this way." Ashleigh began fastening the buckles on her laptop
bag. People like the mystery of not knowing who I am, and besides…"

Scowling,
Ashleigh struggled with a broken snap. "My goal as a writer isn't to be
famous, it's for my books to be."

Ashleigh
stepped up to the counter, eyeing the display for her book,
Nightwalkers—Betrayal
.
She frowned at the sexy picture of a half-naked woman being bitten by an overly
masculine man with ungodly looking abs. It wasn’t what she had wanted for the
cover, but her publishing company had pressured her into it.

She stood to the side, watching Natalie wait on the handsome man in the
suit. Out of the corner of her eye, Ashleigh was checking him out cautiously. He
was blond and dressed in a fine suit, which wasn't her type.

Spying a copy of
Betrayal
in
his hands, she beamed with pride, even though she was trying her best to hide
it. But when Gramps sent her a giant smile, she quickly forced a grimace and
turned from him. She knew he would soon tease her about this, something she
wanted to avoid.

"Nice
choice." Natalie smirked as she took the novel from his hands and scanned the
barcode.

"My
friends and I are very big Victoria Allure fans." The man’s voice was
deeper than Ashleigh was expecting, his eyes covered by a set of designer
sunglasses. He smiled at Natalie, and even though it was very sexy, it also contained
a hint of devilishness. This, Ashleigh liked. She sent a huge grin to Natalie. "We’ve
been trying to get a private meeting with her, but her publishing company won’t
arrange it. I know she works here, so I
decided to come ask her myself."

Ashleigh chimed in, her answer slightly snippy. "You're wrong, she
doesn't work—"

Gramps finished her sentence. "Today."

"Her name's Ashleigh Brown, right?" Nathan briefly glanced at
Natalie's nametag and then over at Ashleigh, who was wearing one that said “Mary
Anne.” Ashleigh was dressed in jeans and a sweater with the book store's logo
on it.

"No." Ashleigh locked eyes with him as she mustered a smile.

"No?" He regarded her strangely.

"What she means is…" Gramps sighed. "Miss Allure would be
very angry if she found out you knew her name. As her friend…" He motioned
toward Ashleigh. "She is simply trying to honor Miss Allure's request for
privacy. Such things are important to Miss Allure, so please respect her
wishes."

"Yes,"
Nathan spoke. "I understand. I'm very sorry."

"Maybe
someday she’ll come out of the closet." Natalie laughed, briefly glancing
over at Ashleigh, who sent her a very dirty look.

"Naw." Gramps bagged an older woman’s books in a brown paper sack
with the words “Harmon and Brown” stamped on it.

The other costumer tried to chime in. "But Ashleigh's—"

"She likes her privacy too much," Gramps interrupted.

He motioned for the old woman to leave. Most of the people here knew
Ashleigh wrote
Nightwalkers
, but
because most of the population was made up of older people and farmers, her
secret never seemed to go past the county line.

The townsfolk here were also highly religious and didn't care for
Ashleigh's horror novels, Ashleigh's grandmother being one of them. She was
furious when Gramps had started carrying the books his store, but he never took
them down. Though most never sold here, he always displayed them proudly.

"Yes, she does." Ashleigh gave her grandfather a dirty look
because she knew what was coming.

With
a sly smile, Gramps spoke, "But maybe a handsome man like you could change
her mind. From all that sex she writes about, she’s in need of one of those."

"I
believe you're wrong." Nathan smiled as he watched Gramps curiously, "Someone
who writes as sensual as she does couldn’t be single." He took out his
wallet. There was a foreign symbol monogrammed in the fancy leather. His light-colored
fingers opened it, revealing a very fat stack of cash.

Ashleigh
giggled quietly as she took a candy bar off the display near her, setting it on
the counter in front of her grandfather. She liked what the stranger had said,
and she tried not to let her smug expression show.

"I doubt Victoria has time for any meetings, anyway." Natalie
took the man’s money and placed it in the register. "She’s working on a
new book and is off the next two weeks. What was the name of it again?"
She turned to Ashleigh.

"
Blood Kisses
."
Ashleigh took out her wallet with small pink hearts stamped on its surface. Originally,
it had been white but had now faded to a dull gray.

"Really? I thought the next one coming out was
Love Bites
." Nathan laughed as he glanced at Ashleigh. There
was a warm tone to his voice, and he seemed to have a very friendly
personality.

"No." Ashleigh didn't make eye contact with him. "
Love Bites
is the one releasing next
month.
Blood Kisses
is the book after
that."

"All right." He nodded. "How exciting. You all get to hear
about the books before we do. I really envy that. I wish I knew her as well as
you do." Then, he turned to Natalie. "So, is there any way you could
arrange a meeting?"

"She and I are great friends." A cocky tone crept into Natalie's
voice as she bagged his purchase. "And we're one of the select few who
know her identity."

Ashleigh glared at Natalie, but Natalie motioned for her to shush. "Well,
I guess it doesn't hurt to ask her about it. I'm sure she'd love to meet a
handsome man such as yourself." Natalie’s eyes opened wider as she raised
her eyebrows playfully. She was laying it on thick. "And if not, maybe I
could get her to send you an email or a signed copy of her book or
something."

Ashleigh
tried not to laugh at Natalie. "How much for this Gramps?"

"Five
bucks for you missy," Gramps cackled as he held out his hand. "That
includes the ones you took yesterday."

"Fine."
Ashleigh frowned, her bottom lip pouting a little as she handed him a bill.

"So
you'll contact her for me?" Nathan was the only customer left in the store.
Now that their conversation had switched to something he was interested in, he
seemed intent on staying. "I would love to speak with her."

"See?" Gesturing with her hand toward Nathan, Natalie’s voice
was louder than it needed to be. "It’s because of this kind of stuff that
I think Victoria needs to be more in touch with her fans. You know, come out
and talk publicly. Like do a book signing or interview or something." She turned
back to him. "Don’t you think so?"

He was going to say something, but Ashleigh beat him to it. "No."
Her voice took on a deeper tone. "She has a pen name for a reason, remember?"
She unwrapped her candy bar and took a big bite off the end of it, speaking
with her mouth full. "She likes her privacy."

"I
like that idea." Gramps grinned as he walked from behind the counter and
toward Ashleigh. "Then maybe she’ll stop thinking about vampires all the
time and take interest in some real men. Vampires don’t exist."

"I
never said they did." Ashleigh spoke in a mocking tone as she took another
nibble from the chocolate treat. She glanced over at the man briefly, who was
chuckling under his breath. He had pulled out his phone and was hiding it under
the counter as he typed.

"And
I’m not—" Stopping short, she suddenly remembered something. "Speaking
of her, I have to send an email." Quickly pulling out her laptop and walking
around the counter, she set it down and opened it. Ashleigh’s attention quickly
got absorbed in what she was doing. Biting on her nail, she had an intense
expression on her face. Then, her fingers went to the keys, and she started
typing.

"Do
you have a girlfriend?" Natalie’s bold question made Ashleigh look up
sharply. She was leaning on the counter now, her hands cradling her cheeks as
she supported her weight on her elbows.

"I
have no need for one." He was too involved with his phone to do more than
flick his eyes up to her for a second.

"Really?"
Natalie didn’t really know how to react to his answer, so she just grinned
stupidly.

"Okay
ladies, it’s almost closing time." Gramps strode up to Ashleigh and shut
the lid of her laptop, almost slamming her fingers in it.

"Hey!"
She quickly opened it back up and resumed her furious typing.

"Sorry
sir, I don’t mean to rush you, but we’re closing soon. The pretty ladies are
available tonight, if you want to continue your conversation about Miss Allure,
especially this catch of a granddaughter of mine. She knows more about Victoria
than anyone."

"I
do not." Ashleigh glared at him.

He
was holding a set of keys in his hands, dangling them in front of Ashleigh. "Lock
up for me, sweetheart. I promised old Grams I’d meet her at the lock for that
cruise she’s been harping me about."

There
was a sad tone to her voice. "Fine." Ashleigh took the keys from him
and shut her laptop, annoyed. H
HHh
e
had embarrassed her by proclaiming to the world she was single and desperate
enough to have her grandfather try to set up dates for her. "See you
tomorrow, Gramps."

"Aww,
sweetie. Give me a smile." He walked behind her and wrapped his arms
around her shoulders. "I think you’re a brilliant writer. Sorry about what
I said earlier," he whispered in her ear before pulling away. He kissed
the top of her head as he squeezed her playfully.

"Thanks."
Ashleigh shoved her laptop into its case quickly.

Gramps motioned toward the man. "Go talk to him. He likes your
books. Use that as a conversation starter."

"I…" Pausing, Ashleigh peeked at him then turned to her
grandfather. In a low voice, she continued, "Can't…"

"Why not?" Gramps regarded her with confusion.

"No one cares about plain old Ashleigh Brown." She sighed in
defeat. "My fans…they all think I'm this big time thing, but I'm not. I
can't live up to Victoria's fame…this persona my fans have invented. This
thing's gotten way too big for me. It's like I
have
to keep this secret now."

He put his hand on her shoulder as she gazed up at him with sad eyes.
"I'm sure your fans would be satisfied with the beautiful, talented,
Ashleigh Brown. I know I am, and that young man seems to be as well."

"Thanks Gramps." She reached over and gave him a hug.

"Okay." He sighed. "I'm heading out. See you
tomorrow." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"Love
you too." She forced a smile as she watched him grab his coat. She then
turned back to Nathan. He was talking to Natalie about Victoria. Ashleigh was
happy to barge in on their conversation and change the subject. "Nat?"
Ashleigh looped the strap of the bag over her shoulder as she walked around the
desk. "I’m closing up now."

"Oh
yeah." Natalie stood next to the handsome man. "Can I help you with
anything else?"

"My
family is in town on business, and we’ll be hitting the clubs tonight. If you’d
like to come, we could swing by and pick you up."

"Of
course, we would." Putting her hand over her chest, Natalie wore an
overdramatic expression on her perfectly painted face. Her eagerness was a
little much, but the man didn’t seem to mind.

She
then grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something down on it. "Here’s our
address and my phone number." The man looked down at her almost illegible
handwriting. Natalie smiled in Ashleigh’s direction briefly then back at him. "So,
when you picking us up?"

"He’s
not going to call." Sitting on the arm of the couch, Ashleigh was texting.
She donned trendy jeans and a hot pink tank under her black sweater. The lacy
edges of it hugged her hips, her long, black hair perfectly curled and falling
down her shoulders.