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Death Meets His Match
Death lurked around every corner. Death was a disease with no cure—a tyrant with a one-hundred-percent success rate. Mortals and immortals alike ingested the phantom’s toxic essence with every breath, every sigh, every spoken and unspoken word.
Keller O’Leary had Death inside him—an all-consuming monster hell-bent on consumption and destruction. The beast burned beneath his cool skin, like a fire that never weakened, clawing and tearing at the fragile tether that Keller could barely keep intact.
A light snow fell on his cheeks as he stood on the edge of a city fragrant with rich copper. Nashville, Tennessee. So much energy. So much life. Keller wanted all of it, wanted to absorb the life power of the humans laughing and carousing on the streets just beyond the shadows from where he watched. Perhaps then he would feel something more than insatiable hunger—something that just might be the salve he needed to heal his ravaged soul.
He’d come to the quaint city for two reasons: his sister, Sage, and the whispered promises of blood more powerful than any he’d ever tasted. Keller doubted the latter, but would find out soon enough. When Sage had telepathically contacted him with a personal invitation, the pure excitement in her voice had him more than a little intrigued. The typically sullen Sage had transformed into someone else, and that someone wouldn’t have taken no for an answer. Nor would she have had to. Keller would always come when Sage needed him. He looked forward to seeing his sister tomorrow. Too much time had passed since their last visit.
Clouds slid across the moon like curtains drawn at the end of an act. His skin tingled in anticipation of the next. Something big would happen tonight. Something out of his control. The monster wild against its leash promised it.
Sensing prey, Keller focused.
A lush blonde broke from a group exiting a small brick building, and she bid them farewell with a wave of her fingers. Keller sifted through the intricate details of the crystal snowflakes and the soft glow of the holiday lights, zeroing in on the pulse point just beneath her ear. She wore a red dress that hugged her curves and beckoned him like a bullfighter’s cape. The scooped neckline plunged too low for the chilled temperature, exposing the swell of her full breasts—an intentional play on her part to attract men. Neither that nor her shapely legs were what drew him to this particular beauty. Her pulse, on the other hand…
Keller stepped out of the shadows, teleported across several streets in a flash, and caught her as she stumbled, her heel catching in a sidewalk crack.
“Oops. Sorry about that,” she said, giggling softly. She looked up and sucked in a breath. Her hand fluttered to her chest, lingered.
Keller recognized the appreciation in her blue eyes. Part of his allure was that vampires were more striking than mortals, with a few exceptions. The other part was solely a benefit of exceptional DNA, something he couldn’t take credit for.
Her pupils dilated. Her nostrils reacted with a slight flare. He’d seen it before in women and men alike. His beauty distracted their senses, making his work easier. As her heart rate accelerated, Death roared to life, pushing Keller to move—to act. His feeding was long overdue. He could drain her in less than a minute.
But he did not move. He didn’t have to kill.
He could let her walk away, go home, and wake up tomorrow in her warm bed.
Death roared and prowled, pulling its chain tight, close to snapping. Death disagreed.
“No need to apologize.” Keller peered into her eyes and turned his Irish lilt up a notch. “Come with me.”
She sighed and he strode into the alley. He needn’t turn to check if she followed. The power of persuasion had been a gift since the moment he’d been turned nearly a century ago. Many vampires had to work to hone their powers. Keller was different. It had all come very natural to
Death Meets His Match
Death lurked around every corner. Death was a disease with no cure—a tyrant with a one-hundred-percent success rate. Mortals and immortals alike ingested the phantom’s toxic essence with every breath, every sigh, every spoken and unspoken word.
Keller O’Leary had Death inside him—an all-consuming monster hell-bent on consumption and destruction. The beast burned beneath his cool skin, like a fire that never weakened, clawing and tearing at the fragile tether that Keller could barely keep intact.
A light snow fell on his cheeks as he stood on the edge of a city fragrant with rich copper. Nashville, Tennessee. So much energy. So much life. Keller wanted all of it, wanted to absorb the life power of the humans laughing and carousing on the streets just beyond the shadows from where he watched. Perhaps then he would feel something more than insatiable hunger—something that just might be the salve he needed to heal his ravaged soul.
He’d come to the quaint city for two reasons: his sister, Sage, and the whispered promises of blood more powerful than any he’d ever tasted. Keller doubted the latter, but would find out soon enough. When Sage had telepathically contacted him with a personal invitation, the pure excitement in her voice had him more than a little intrigued. The typically sullen Sage had transformed into someone else, and that someone wouldn’t have taken no for an answer. Nor would she have had to. Keller would always come when Sage needed him. He looked forward to seeing his sister tomorrow. Too much time had passed since their last visit.
Clouds slid across the moon like curtains drawn at the end of an act. His skin tingled in anticipation of the next. Something big would happen tonight. Something out of his control. The monster wild against its leash promised it.
Sensing prey, Keller focused.
A lush blonde broke from a group exiting a small brick building, and she bid them farewell with a wave of her fingers. Keller sifted through the intricate details of the crystal snowflakes and the soft glow of the holiday lights, zeroing in on the pulse point just beneath her ear. She wore a red dress that hugged her curves and beckoned him like a bullfighter’s cape. The scooped neckline plunged too low for the chilled temperature, exposing the swell of her full breasts—an intentional play on her part to attract men. Neither that nor her shapely legs were what drew him to this particular beauty. Her pulse, on the other hand…
Keller stepped out of the shadows, teleported across several streets in a flash, and caught her as she stumbled, her heel catching in a sidewalk crack.
“Oops. Sorry about that,” she said, giggling softly. She looked up and sucked in a breath. Her hand fluttered to her chest, lingered.
Keller recognized the appreciation in her blue eyes. Part of his allure was that vampires were more striking than mortals, with a few exceptions. The other part was solely a benefit of exceptional DNA, something he couldn’t take credit for.
Her pupils dilated. Her nostrils reacted with a slight flare. He’d seen it before in women and men alike. His beauty distracted their senses, making his work easier. As her heart rate accelerated, Death roared to life, pushing Keller to move—to act. His feeding was long overdue. He could drain her in less than a minute.
But he did not move. He didn’t have to kill.
He could let her walk away, go home, and wake up tomorrow in her warm bed.
Death roared and prowled, pulling its chain tight, close to snapping. Death disagreed.
“No need to apologize.” Keller peered into her eyes and turned his Irish lilt up a notch. “Come with me.”
She sighed and he strode into the alley. He needn’t turn to check if she followed. The power of persuasion had been a gift since the moment he’d been turned nearly a century ago. Many vampires had to work to hone their powers. Keller was different. It had all come very natural to
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