Her Billionaire Vampire Read online

  Her Billionaire Vampire

  Jackie Lee

  Fated Mates Romance

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

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  Copyright © 2020 by Fated Mates Romance

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Prologue

  Evil is in the air.

  I didn’t quite understand it, but I knew something wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t anything I could see as I walked toward my car. I just knew something was wrong somewhere.

  The wind howled around me as if trying to tell me something. I listened, but there was nothing to pick up on from the sound. Sighing, I drew my coat tighter around my slim frame.

  “I should never have stayed this late,” I scolded myself. “Grandma would be pissed.”

  It wasn’t unusual for me to get carried away when I was painting. There were times I wouldn’t even remember to eat. Lost in the scents of my oil and canvas, the world would seem several miles away.

  As my boots trudged the path leading to my car, I thought I heard something behind me. I swiftly turned, but all that welcomed me was darkness.

  The street where my studio was located was poorly lit, so it was difficult to make out any other human around. Most of the shops had closed for the day. Consequently, there were very few people about.

  My footsteps increased in their pace. I cursed inwardly for having parked my car so far away from my studio. I loved reserving my parking spot for my customers because most of them complained about the lack of parking space when they came to patronize me.

  “Of all the places in New York, that’s where you choose to work?” my grandmother had shouted when I told her I got the place at Elma’s street.

  I’d shrugged, smiled, and given her a quick peck on the cheek to avoid further criticisms from her. I was sick and tired of working at home. I didn’t major in art at the university so that I could situate my studio in the garage. Besides, I wanted a place that wasn’t so busy.

  A little shiver went up to my spine when a blast of wind swung by, lifting my dress.

  Would winter go away already? It was early March, and I longed for spring, my favorite season. The beauty of flowers blooming and the scent they bathed their surroundings with was one of the reasons I loved spring.

  My musings made me oblivious to my environment, which was why I got a little startled when my eyes became focused. Just a short distance from me, I could make out the figure of a hooded man coming my way. I couldn’t quite see his face, but I could see that he was quite tall and had on dark clothing.

  For some reason, my heart began to beat a rapid thud against my chest. I knew then that it was paramount that I reached my car before the man got to me.

  My heels clicked on the tarred surface of the road as I hastened my steps. Relief whooshed out of my lungs as I got to my car and opened the door. Fortunately, the man was still a distance away.

  “Give me your purse and car keys.”

  I gasped as the air left my lungs.

  The voice had come from behind me. My body whirled around in shock with my eyes widening, and my lips parting as I surveyed the man who had been ahead of me only seconds ago.

  All I could see of him were his burning golden eyes. Every other part of him was covered in black apparel.

  I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What could I tell him? Please?

  I took a step back, bumping into my car door. Although it was quite cold, beads of sweat marked my temples, and my palms suddenly became clammy inside my gloves.

  My eyes darted frantically in every direction, seeking for help. All I could see was a homeless man, sleeping on the sidewalk. I knew I ought to protect myself as help wasn’t forthcoming.

  I closed my eyes, let out a deep breath, and opened my mouth. Before I could say anything, pain, so intense that it robbed me of words, landed on my head. Immediately, I collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

  “Help,” I whispered.

  Chapter One

  Bored!

  That was what I was. Who would be bored to tears in an exclusive club where the music was banging, and sexy and attractive women littered every corner you looked?

  Me, that’s who! As my eyes trailed the club with its posh booths, classy décor, and wealthy patrons, I asked myself for the umpteenth time what I was still doing there.

  “I should have just gone home from work,” I muttered to myself as I caught yet another woman giving me the once-over.

  Her sequin dress left nothing to the imagination as she coyly positioned herself in such a way that I would have a full view of her chest, which was on display.

  I forced my eyes away from her luscious figure. Exhaling softly, I took a sip from my drink. Over a hundred years on earth, but I had never been this uninterested in anything.

  It gave me a little cause for concern because I was beginning to wonder if I was getting tired of living. As a vampire, I still had a large number of years ahead of me. If I was at present weary after just a century, what would I do to occupy myself in the coming centuries?

  A grimace crossed my face as I thought of what I might just do to myself to end my misery. Although I practically had everything at my beck and call, I was growing more and more dissatisfied by the day.

  A thriving business with branches in various countries giving me a billionaire status, a penthouse suite with all the luxuries one could think of, a variety of sleek cars at my disposal, a jet plane to take me anywhere in the world I wanted. And most of all, women. Women in various shapes and sizes, with different hair colors, and all sorts of personalities to do my bidding. But I was still as bored as hell.

  “You need a change. A new lease on life,” one of the members of my council told me recently.

  I had eyed him with confusion, wondering what he was talking about. His wife, giggling, had come to stand beside him.

  “Yes, Ethan. You need someone to go home to every night,” she had said, wrapping her arms around her husband.

  A scowl had crossed my face. Wife! They were talking about a wife! How distasteful!

  “I don’t need a wife,” I’d curtly told them before walking away.

  Having a wife would spoil a lot of things for me. My freedom, for one, would be restricted. I would have to detail where I was or where I was going all the time. I didn’t need such complications. My life was excellent as it was, only that I didn’t quite understand what was going on with me at present.

  “Do you want a refill, Mr. Whitfield?”

  My eyes traveled to the waitress who was standing before me, smiling as if I were some delicious piece of a dessert she would love to consume in a jiffy.

  I could use someone like her for the night. The curvy redhead would carry out a lot of my fantasies for a few hours. But for some reason I couldn’t quite decipher, I wasn’t in the mood.

  “No,” I replied shortly. I took the glass from the table, tossed the remaining liquid down my throat, and placed it on her outstretched tray.

  I could read the disappointment
in her eyes as I pushed myself to my feet. If it weren’t frowned at by the club management, I could see that she would have loved to cling to me.

  Not tonight, honey.

  My security team was already in place as I strode toward the door. From the corner of my eyes, I could see the women, who had been giving me the green light all night, staring at me longingly.

  It was a pity I wasn’t in a right frame of mind. I could have had a blissful night with any of them.

  As I waited outside for my chauffeur to get my car, I wondered if I was doing the right thing going home alone. A glance at my Rolex showed it was just after midnight.

  No. I shook my head. All I wanted was to go home and sleep. It was unusual, but it was what I desired.

  Normally, I ended up with some bimbo for a one-night stand when I was out prowling on my own without my security team.

  Although I was spoiled for options in the club, I was only interested in going home. I wondered how I would have managed it, though. There were several very willing women I could have sampled for the night.

  As a rule, I never took women to my home. I always went to theirs, but if it wasn’t conducive for them, I took them to a hotel. I was usually out of there once I’d taken a shower. Cuddling and mushy stuff after sex wasn’t my thing.

  Some women had complained when they tried snuggling after sex, and I pushed them away to take a shower.

  “You’re so unromantic!”

  “You’re so unemotional!”

  “Do you even have a heart?”

  If only they knew. A chuckle left my lips as I recalled the last woman who had thrown her pillows at me as I was about stepping out of her apartment.

  “I’ll see you around,” I’d told her before opening the door.

  “Don’t you ever call me,” she’d yelled like a banshee, throwing pillows at me.

  I’d burst into laughter before shutting the door. As if I would ever call her. Collecting her number during the date had just been a way to prolong the conversation. All I’d been thinking of was taking her to her place to slake my lust.

  I dismissed my chauffeur when he pulled the car at the curb.

  “I’ll drive around a little before I head home. You can join the others,” I informed him as I took the car keys to my Bentley.

  I could see from the expression on the face of my head of security that he wasn’t happy with my decision. I couldn’t care less. Besides, he ought to be used to my spontaneous change of plans by now. I answered to no one.

  I swung into my car, revved my engine, and drove away in a speed worthy of a Formula One driver. It was left for them to either follow me or allow me to find my way home alone.

  Even though I didn’t feel like spending the night with someone, I didn’t want to go home just yet. The nagging feeling of discontent was beginning to form a bulge in my chest, which I was finding hard to swallow.

  “What is wrong with me?”

  I raked my fingers through my hair as I maneuvered the car down the semi-deserted road. There were still a few people nearby. For a moment, I thought of picking up a random woman to have a quickie with just so the lump in my chest would settle.

  My thoughts, however, changed when I looked at my rearview mirror and saw my security team trying to catch up with me.

  Grinning, I decided to have a little fun. Perhaps a race was just what I needed to kill the feeling of something missing in my life. Changing my gear, I increased the speed of my car.

  “Oh, it’s on!” I exclaimed when I saw the car drawing closer.

  The entertaining race went on for a while through the empty streets of New York. Adrenaline pumped in my veins as I drove from one street to another in neck-breaking speed. An exhilarating rush got my cheeks flushing as I laughed when I lost the car.

  Unfortunately, I found myself in a street I wasn’t quite familiar with. It was dark and dreary. I wondered if people resided in this part of town.

  As I looked for how best to drive away from the gloomy street, my eyes fell on a figure lying by the roadside.

  “What the hell is that?”

  Chapter Two

  I’m going to regret this.

  I knew it, but that didn’t stop me from sitting there and staring at the figure before me. I should just drive away and pretend I never saw anything.

  But something in me I couldn’t quite understand was pulling me to what lay there.

  “It’s none of your business, Ethan. Drive away,” I murmured.

  It might be a trap. I’d heard of stories where someone would pretend to be hurt so that an innocent bystander would come along to offer help. Then the person would be either be mugged or killed.

  Not that I could be killed, but I sure didn’t want the drama that would ensue if someone tried to mug me. Or even get in a fight. I hadn’t tasted human blood in years. I wasn’t about to start now, which was why my life was always on a low key. Besides, I was already bone-tired from a hard day’s work and the race.

  I was beginning to regret losing my security team. They would have handled whatever that was on the ground without me having to step out of my car.

  My eyes trailed the environment, using my night vision to try to detect any form of evil around. Nothing!

  It was quite a dull street. There was no one about. Well, except for a homeless man sleeping at a corner.

  Was I going to sit in my car all night staring at the figure on the ground? I wondered.

  Sighing, I released my seatbelt. I wouldn’t be able to sleep well, knowing I had passed up the opportunity of finding out what lay at the side of the road.

  A deep sigh left my lips.

  Cautiously, I opened my door and stepped out. A cold draft hit me, making me pull my coat tighter around my body. I waited, trying to sense any danger ahead.

  When there was none forthcoming, I covered the distance between the heap shaped in the form of a human being and me. As I drew closer, I was sure it was a woman who lay there.

  From the corners of my eyes, I looked for any sign of movement as I approached the woman against my better judgment.

  Stopping beside her, I peered down at her. She was laying on her side. Her face was turned from me. One leg was placed underneath the other. Her hands were stretched out before her while her head lay at an awkward angle on the ground.

  Her soiled gray dress had ridden up her thighs, revealing a pair of leggings that were torn. I had to force my eyes from the legs were shapely. Going down on my haunches, my eyes roved her body.

  Gently, I turned her toward me. Although illumination from the streetlight was weak, I could make out her face. A bruise covered one part of her forehead. Dirt streaks made markings across her face.

  As my eyes traversed her features, I concluded that she was one lovely woman despite the dirt. I stared at the heart-shaped face with awe. Without meaning to, I gently nudged her, trying to get her to open her eyes.

  Strangely, I yearned to see her eyes, which I figured would be quite as captivating as her face. What with her high forehead, perfectly shaped brows, long lashes, a pert nose, and pouting lips that begged to be kissed. I was certain her eyes would be equally mesmerizing.

  Gently, I prodded her again. But she was still out cold. My hands moved inside her coat in search of a means of identification. I found nothing.

  My brows creased in a frown. Why would such a beautiful young woman be out at this time of night without anything on her?

  The bruise on her head, her dirty and torn clothes made it apparent that she had been mugged and robbed. A means of identification was probably in her stolen purse.

  My eyes moved around the empty street, wondering if anyone had seen something even though no one was around. For a moment, I thought of going to wake the homeless man to ask him if he saw anything. Then I wondered if he might be the one who attacked her.

  After staring at the man’s sleeping form for a while, I sensed that he was innocent. He’d nothing to do with the mugging. My gaze went back t
o the unconscious beauty in my arms.

  What was I going to do with her?

  Now that I’d satisfied my curiosity about the figure lying on the road, I had no idea what I was going to do.

  As a rule, I never took women to my home. As a matter of fact, no woman had ever seen the inside of my house.

  Perhaps I should take her to a hospital. I touched the bruise on her face. It didn’t appear to need a trip to the ER. But maybe I could hand her over to the medical professionals and leave.

  Suddenly, the bulge in my chest I’d been trying to get rid of all night hit me with a pang. The idea of abandoning her at a hospital seemed quite unpleasant.

  What if she wasn’t properly taken care of? What if they threw her out before she was good and ready? What if she wasn’t given the right treatment?

  I knew I was letting my imagination run wild, but it couldn’t be helped. For some reason I couldn’t quite place my finger on, I saw her as my responsibility.

  Finders keepers, right?

  “Damn it!” I murmured.

  I couldn’t spend the rest of my night trying to decide on what to do with her. I’d to come to a decision and quickly. The gossip columns would have a field day if I were pictured right there.

  I’d never be described as the giving type, but I couldn’t just leave her there. Sighing because every nerve in my body was telling me not to, I gently lifted the young woman into my arms and rose.

  She weighed as little as a feather, or perhaps it was because of my strength. She stirred a little, and I looked down at her. Her lips were slightly parted.

  An erotic thought crossed my mind on what I’d love to do to those succulent lips of hers. Shame filled me instantly. I was ogling an unconscious woman and having erogenous thoughts about her.