All Chapters of SALVATION OF THE DAMNED (A Vampire Romance) : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Aleron Dravenhart felt the dawn coming and knew he couldn’t escape it. He stirred in the snow, his body splayed in the center of a neatly tended yard, and wondered for a second where the hell he was. Then he remembered. A vague echo of a memory danced through his dazed mind. He’d come back to Ravenwell, Ashbourne. He'd come here to hide away. To forget. To remember. To lose himself in the quiet serene. He blinked and focused his eyes on a nearby bush—carefully pruned into the shape of a lopsided elephant—and told himself that some change had happened here. But what did it matter? The pounding ache in his head, the lethargy of his body, the creeping sluggishness moving through his system incrementally told him that he didn’t have enough time to think these questions through, anyway.He shifted his gaze to the lightening sky. Already, that broad, sweeping expanse was a faint shade of lavender, heralding the coming sun. And while he watched the day begin, he thought about just how much

One dark eyebrow lifted. “You make a habit of inviting strangers into your home, do you?”“Actually, no,” she said, forcing a brave smile she didn’t quite feel. “But I can see that you need my help, and I can't let you leave in your condition. I do have one more empty bedroom, if you need it.”He scowled at her. “I’m fine here.”“In the barn.”“Yes.”Odd. But then what about this morning hadn’t been odd? “But you’re injured.”“I’ll heal.”She didn’t know whether to be pleased or not with the fact that he clearly didn’t want to come into her house. There was something about him that felt…dangerous. And Lord knew, she’d had more than her share of danger already in her life. But she also saw something else in his eyes. An old pain that she responded to. How could she not recognize suffering in someone else? How could she not do everything she could to help?“You can’t stay in the barn,” she said, deciding on the spot to insist on taking care of the man. She’d once needed help desperately

“Come on,” Seraphine said, opening the door. “Come inside and sit down near the fire.”Her invitation was enough to let him pass the threshold and he stumbled through the kitchen with her help, into the wide living room where a fire blazed and crackled in the hearth. She eased him onto an overstuffed sofa crowded with colorful pillows and Aleron laid his head on the back of the couch. The fatigue seeping into every square inch of his body dragged at him.He battled unconsciousness, his thoughts becoming fuzzy, his breathing slowing. The scent of cinnamon hung in the air and mingled with the pine garland strung across the mantel. Being in this house again brought back memories so vivid, so alive, the empty room seemed to throb with them. “Are you hungry?”He turned his head to look at her. His gaze locked on the graceful column of her throat and he would have sworn he could actually see her pulse pounding there. Her blood would be warm and rich and sweet. He could almost taste it, flo

Aleron's gaze narrowed when she still didn't leave, but stood almost open mouthed with even more questions written all over her face. “You should get the hell away from me.” He told her. “Yeah, you said that already.”He hissed, then quicker than she could see, he shot out of the hidden room just to grab her and pulled her back into the room with him. Ignoring the burn on his side from the sun, he grabbed her arm and curled his fingers into her skin. The moves were so startling, she jerked back despite her best intentions. He saw it and released her.“You’re afraid. I can smell it on you.” One corner of his mouth lifted and fell in a blink. “To a vampire, that scent is compelling.”Her arm tingled where he’d grabbed her. His eyes caught and held her and while she watched, the darks of his eyes bled into the whites until all she could see was her reflection shining back at her from the depths of twin black pools.“You’re a tempting package, Sera.” His gaze swept up and down her body

“You’re deliberately trying to keep me scared,” she pointed out. “And not that it’s working, but why?”“Because you should be.” He came around the table, laid both hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. “Others of my kind know I come here when I'm in town. Some may come looking for me. That means you’re not safe.”“More vampires? Here?” Looking up into his deep black eyes, she shivered. “Why are they looking for you?”He let her go and shook his head. “There’s a war brewing in the vampire world. We’re expected to take sides.”“A vampire war?” Seraphine's voice sounded strained even to herself, as if she’d had to squeeze those words out a too tight throat. “And it’s coming here?”“Maybe.” He scraped a hand across his jaw. “I don’t know who’s coming— hell, even if anyone is coming. Can’t be sure.”“And if they do come, then what?” The small dribble of fear she’d felt earlier became a running river, pushing through her veins, making her mouth dry and her head feel light.He