A Vamp About Town

by Michelle Kelly

Genres: Paranormal Romance

Synopsis

Ever since former NYPD detective Nick Carter and 200-year-old vampiress Ruby set up their private agency for preternatural crime, things have been heating up both at work and at play. Yet Nick's refusal to share the ultimate intimacy with Ruby is putting a strain on their otherwise passionate relationship, a strain which may lead her dangerously astray. When a new, mysterious vampire arrives in New York and begins leaving the bodies of young girls as messages for Ruby, her past and her future become inextricably entwined.

Release date: January 5, 2015

Publisher: Accent Press

Print pages: 67

Sample

Chapter One

Ruby leaned back in her chair and looked across at Detective Nick Carter. He looked delicious in blue jeans and a tight white T-shirt moulded to his chiselled upper body, his face intense as he frowned at a piece of paper in front of him.. Good enough to eat. In Ruby’s case, as she was a 200-year-old vampire, that meant literally.

If only Nick would let her.

He felt her gaze and looked up, flashing her a smile that lit up his whole face and made him look boyish, rather than the hard-bitten ex-cop turned paranormal private detective he was.

‘Just what are you thinking over there?’

She smirked.

‘Can’t you tell, Detective?’

Nick pretended to glare at her. The fact that Ruby was a vampire meant that his telepathic powers didn’t work on her and he couldn’t read her mind. Although she teased him, she knew it was one of the reasons they worked; Nick had been sworn off women for good after he had seen visions in his last girlfriend’s mind of her sleeping with his best friend. Compared to that, he obviously thought pointy teeth and a 170-year age gap a walk in the park.

‘I was thinking,’ she said in the low, husky voice she knew he loved, ‘of coming over there, unzipping those jeans of yours, getting down on my knees and …’

‘Don’t you two ever give it a rest?’

Ruby quickly fell quiet as Bane walked in, his lip curled in disgust. She sighed. Not only did Bane and Nick dislike each other, but the werewolf only came to see them when something was wrong. He was their liaison with the local Paranormal Alliance in New York and, as all inter-Pack crimes were generally dealt with by the werewolves themselves, his presence signified something was going down that would affect them all.

‘What’s up?’ Nick said, and Ruby realised he sounded eager. Work had been slow lately, and their last case had involved finding a missing spell book and tracking a woman whose husband believed she was having an affair with a shape shifter. The husband had seemed almost disappointed when it turned out his wife’s beau was ordinarily human. Although Ruby quite enjoyed the human-interest cases, Nick was an ex-homicide detective and although she knew he certainly wouldn’t want anyone to die just to keep him busy, he did need something to stay occupied.

Bane’s answer however failed to ignite his curiosity.

‘One of our trackers sensed a new vamp in the city.’

Nick shrugged. Ever since the local ‘vampire lifestyle’ club Crimson Shade had been taken over by its current owner, it had become a haven for passing vamps looking for a willing human donor to provide a quick snack. Whereas before the club had existed for humans calling themselves ‘vampires’ without any knowledge of the existence of the real thing, since it had been at the centre of Nick and Ruby’s first case six months ago it had become a front for humans who not only knew about the existence of vamps but were happy to provide for them. As a result New York had seen more vampire traffic in the last six months than it had in six decades. As long as they were only passing through and not staying, Ruby didn’t interfere. But vamps were fiercely territorial, and New York was hers. Not to mention the fact that the Alliance were less than happy about the sudden glut of vampires on their turf. Most paranormals got along well enough, provided they all stayed within their own parameters, but no one trusted vamps. Not even other vampires. Unlike weres, or the Fey, or even most demons, vampires had no intrinsic loyalty to their own kind. Which meant they were unlikely to have any for anyone else, either.

‘The tracker said he smelled … angry. And focused.’

‘Here for a more pressing reason than just a visit to Crimson Shade then,’ Nick said thoughtfully. He looked over at Ruby. ‘Any ideas?’

She shook her head. Vampires didn’t exactly socialise with one another. They were solitary predators, like tigers. Only usually much more dangerous.

‘I’ll pay a visit to the club, see if I can find anything out,’ she offered, then wished she hadn’t as Nick turned his face away from her so she didn’t see his expression. Although she had drank from him before, he didn’t much like it, but wasn’t happy with her having ties to a place where young guys were only too ready to offer their wrists and God knows what else to her.

‘Thanks for letting us know,’ he said abruptly to Bane, looking back down at his paperwork in obvious dismis. . .