Prince Vampire by Amarinda Jones

of, yet she was scared that he was finally there in her life. It was one thing to want from afar but another to be up close and personal talking about commitment. That’s what marriage was to Aureliann. Maybe celebrities could meet someone and get married the next day but she was not like that. Marriage was for life. Before her parents died she experienced that. They would have grown old together if not for the car crash.
    The problem was Aureliann liked the idea of forever when it was a faraway concept that was unlikely to touch her world.
    “I don’t want him, yet I want him.” She blew out a sigh and put her head in her hands. “That’s real rational, Aureliann.”
    * * * * *
    Valdemar was as angry as hell. She didn’t want him. No woman had ever denied him. He was a prince, a nobleman, a vampire. Women in his own country lusted after him. He was a prize, a catch. He could marry any woman he wanted. He did not have to follow tradition. That some pipsqueak of a woman told him “no” maddened him. Who was she to deny him what he wanted? He stopped and thought about Aureliann. You put fang marks in me, prince, and I’ll kick your royal butt.
    Valdemar smiled as he remembered her words. No woman had ever said that to him and as much as it irritated him, he also liked it. Aureliann was no pushover. She did not want him because of what he was—a prince or a vampire. In her eyes he was just a pushy man and she was not going to play by his rules. She was hot, feisty and he wanted to turn her over his knee and spank her then make love to her until the only answer from her lips was, “Yes, Valdemar, I will marry you”. He loved her. He did not doubt that. He now had to make her believe that life and love could come from the pages of a book.
    While Aureliann was a realist, she was also a dreamer. That she had avidly read the book told him that. “So how do I make her believe her dreams can come true?” Before he could think further, a high-pitched scream of terror broke into his thoughts. Valdemar walked swiftly in the direction of the cry. Whoever it was sounded like they were in great distress. He turned a corner and saw a man beating a woman up. Men in his country did not act this way. They had more honor.
    Valdemar launched himself at the man, pulling him from her with one heave. “Are you okay?” he asked the woman. The man charged him. Valdemar smacked him in the jaw and knocked him down. The woman nodded, staring in amazement at the half naked man with the flowing hair. “Leave us,” Valdemar told her. He watched as she hobbled away, looking back only once as if amazed at her luck. Valdemar deflected another blow the man aimed at him. He knew this type of man. He was a lowlife who used and abused for his own gratification.
    “Who the fuck are you?” the man asked as he reeled under the blows.
    “That’s not your concern.” Although Valdemar could the feel the waves of evil coming from the man, he was useful to him. He needed blood and Valdemar never took anyone innocent. He grabbed the man by the neck.
    “What are you doing?”
    Valdemar allowed his fangs to appear. He saw the fear in the man’s eyes. It would have been a similar fear to what his female victim would have felt. “I’m going to use you and discard you without a backward glance. I believe it will give you some idea of how your victims feel.” As his teeth sunk into the man’s jugular, Valdemar forgot whose throat he sucked as the life force of blood rushed through his body, revitalizing him once more.
    * * * * *
    Victor did not have to go inside the woman’s house to know that his cousin was fucking the woman senseless. It was exactly what he would do given the invitation from the curvaceous Ms. O’Neal. Victor could have slipped quietly into the house and watched but he knew his cousin would have felt his presence if he got too close.
    “Though he would be stupid to think I am not following him.” And he knew Valdemar was