Pleasure Cruise by Mandy M. Roth, Michelle M. Pillow Page A

gaze bore into her. He leaned into her, saying softly, “I tried to tell you, love, but you didn’t want me to speak.”
    “Tell me now, love ,” Kira demanded, pulling back from his arm. The word love hardly sounded affectionate the way she spat it at him, but she didn’t care. She looked at him coldly, taking in his pale face with a growing sense of alarm.
    “I’m supernatural.” His words were light, relaxed.
    “What?” Kira shot, trying to fully grasp the situation and failing. “You do silly little magic tricks or something?”
    “No, I’m a vamp—”
    Braden didn’t get the whole word out before Kira’s body convulsed. She gagged violently, as if she would throw up on him. That’s why the night they met was so fuzzy. That’s why she’d fallen so readily into his arms. He’d mesmerized her, was still trying to mesmerize her. She shook her head, forcing him out of her mind so she could think clearly.
    Kira gasped in horror, spitting on the floor in disgust. She’d let that monster touch her, she’d let him inside her. Without stopping to think, she ran to look for Clare. Suddenly, it was she who wanted to jump off the ship and swim for shore—or gladly die trying.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Kira scrambled up the stairs, only tripping twice in her attempt to distance herself from the vampire she’d allowed inside her. Her body still ached for his touch and her mind raced with the memory of him buried deep within her. She clasped her hand over her mouth and ran to the side of the boat, sure that she was going to be sick. Heat flashed through her body and she suddenly felt very dizzy.
    She clutched desperately at the railing, not wanting to fall off the port bow. The dark ocean stretched around the boat, the churning waters slipping past the ship as it moved. In any other situation the scene would have been peaceful. The moon reflected on the water, it’s full shape causing a new tremor to wash over her. Strange things happened to supernaturals during the full moon. Seeing movement in the distance, she watched as two hairy creatures in tight little swim trunks and nothing else moved up to the exercise deck.
    It would be her luck to foolishly pass out and plummet to her death on a cruise she hadn’t intended to be on. It wasn’t supposed to be a mixed cruise. No supernaturals onboard. She’d double-checked with the travel agency before signing for the package deal, afraid of this very thing happening. The woman had assured her that only humans would be on board this vessel. Kira made a mental note to kick her travel agent’s ass if she ever made it off the ship alive.
    “What would make such a beautiful, passionate woman so terrified of the supernatural?” Braden’s deep voice asked from behind her.
    Kira sucked in her breath, holding it, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn’t scream or jump overboard in fear. She knew she should have kept running, should have known that he would track her easily. That’s what his kind did. They tracked and hunted humans. They didn’t discriminate. They didn’t care if the human was an innocent or even just a child. No, they killed without pity or remorse.
    Shaking her head slightly, she refused to answer him. A delicate whimper sounded in the back of her throat. He didn’t need to know that her parents had been slaughtered by a pack of rogue vampires or that she’d been the one to find their mutilated bodies. No, that little bit she’d keep to herself.
    “So that is what happened. I had wondered. Do not blame me for the actions of others. It is wrong to lump all vampires in with the ones who caused you such pain. It is against our very code to harm the innocent. We prey on criminals and evildoers and have a steady supply of willing donors. Do not think for a moment, Kira, that I would ever harm you as they did your parents. If it is within my power, I will not rest until every last one of the monsters responsible for your family’s death is destroyed.