This Time Next Year by Catherine Peace Page A

little world for hell and ever. You need to get out of that biochem lab more, girl. She went through this service called 1Night Stand. Said it was the best thing she ever did.”
    “A one-night stand? Alene?” she repeated.
    “Yup. She’s been seeing this guy for a while now.” Tandy glanced up. “You seriously did not know this?”
    “I seriously did not.”
    “Well, then I guess it’s good we had this conversation.” She added a bottle of vodka to the mismatched, yet fitting, tea service. “Cuz I kind of signed you up.”
    “You what?” The teabag tumbled back into the mug, her jaw practically along with it. Her body burned. What kind of friend would go behind her back like that? “I just said—”
    “I know what you said, but we’ve been friends for how long? I’ve learned to read between the lines. You need to get laid, woman. Have some guy worship at the fountain of Moira for a night.”
    “The fountain of Moi…are you insane ? What if the guy’s a serial killer or something?” Or a vampire?
    With her hand on her hip and eyebrow cocked, aka the ‘don’t you know anything’ look, Tandy took a deep breath as the kettle whistled. “Madame Eve takes care of her clients. You think I’d suggest it if she was going to set you up with Dexter…or Dracula?”
    That bastard made Dracula look like Richard Simmons . “Whatever. I’m not doing it.”
    After pouring the cups full with damnable precision, Tandy sat next to her.
    Moira waited for her tea to steep before adding a healthy shot of vodka.
    Tandy added, “You might change your mind after you see your match.”

 
     
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    Kiernan Shaw gaped at the computer screen. Madame Evangeline had accomplished in a matter of months what he’d spent years failing to do—finding the girl with the red bouncy curls, the girl whose life his master ruined to ‘teach’ him how to be a true vampire.
    “Madame, you’re either a jinn or a goddess,” he muttered.
    The girl had grown into a beauty. Her hair still as untamed as he remembered, and freckles still dotted her cheeks like constellations. But in the photo, her face had lost its roundness, replaced with high cheekbones, a small nose, and full lips. She’d grown into a petite and curvy, beguiling, sexy woman. On paper, she was a normal twenty-six-year-old.
    According to her profile, she’d graduated with honors from Princeton, worked in a biochemistry lab studying new methods to combat different addictions, receiving numerous accolades for her research. All well and good, but what about her emotional state? The memory of Willem’s fangs ripping her mother open tore through his mind, as fresh as the day it happened.
    “Watch,” Willem had said.
    He’d watched and still hated himself for it. What had that night done to her? In Kiernan’s experience, scarred children grew into scarred adults.
    But he’d refused to let Willem hurt her, instead comforting the girl while she cried, shielding her from the monster he’d been forced to call ‘Master.’ Even then, he wanted her forever. Her blood sang to him, and his still sang for her. Maybe this time, she would hear the music. Maybe he’d even learn her name, if she would tell him. He hadn’t spoken to her since that night, and all he’d said then was, “I’ll keep you safe.”
    True to his word, he’d checked on her whenever he could, keeping his distance so as not to alarm her. From the other side of the street, he would keep vigil until sunrise, listening for her soft breaths and heartbeat, doing anything he could to ensure her safety. But after her last move out of state, and without a name, he’d lost her. Worst of all, he’d lost the chance to atone.
    The following night, he could make amends, and he would make it the most romantic night of her life.
     
    ***
     
    The knock on the suite door startled him. It couldn’t be her. The email had said nine pm, and the grandfather clock had just struck seven. Fighting