The Vampire's Curse, A Paranormal Romance (Undead in Brown County #2) by S.J. Wright Page A

Alex was behind the wheel. He kept glancing in the rearview mirror as I stared at him. He began driving so fast that I had to hang onto the dashboard to keep from flying around the inside of the cab.
    “ Alex, slow down! We have to call an ambulance. Why did you do that?” I screeched at him.
    “ Just hush for a second. I have to think.” He replied, flying up the dark road towards the Inn.
    The gate was open, and the rear end of the truck slid sideways in the gravel as we came onto the property. I suddenly realized that Michael had been right. Alex did not need permission to enter or leave the containment area. He had no limits. It was a frightening thought, especially after seeing the damage he had done to Trevor’s arm in my defense.
    He slammed on the brakes in front of the house. I stared ahead through the grungy windshield, suddenly feeling numb and strangely unattached to everything around me. I kept seeing the way Trevor’s broken bone had poked through flesh of his arm. The blood. Oh, God.
    The passenger door jerked open. Alex grabbed me by the arm and began dragging me effortlessly toward the front door.
    “ Stop it! Let me go!”
    He did not do as I asked until we were past the front door. Nelly came rushing in from the kitchen, wringing her hands, “What happened?”
    I jerked away from Alex, “I can’t believe you did that. His fucking arm is broken , Alex!”
    “ Language!” Nelly hissed.
    Alex turned simmering green eyes towards her, “Some jerk was attacking her. I had to do something.”
    “ Who?”
    “ It was Trevor.” I tore myself out of my cardigan and stalked into the kitchen. Everything was happening too fast for me. First the confrontation with Michael, then the fight between him and Alex, then the bar incident. I flopped down into a chair at the kitchen table and stared at the wall.
    The chair next to me was moved back, and Alex sat down next to me. I heard him sigh before he started talking. I did not really want to hear what he had to say, though. The violence of the events I had witnessed over the course of the evening had left me exhausted and sad.
    “ Sarah, I’m sorry if I went overboard with that guy. But he was going to hurt you.”
    I crossed my arms on the tabletop and dropped my head, preferring not to respond.
    “ I can’t let anything happen to you. Don’t you understand?”
    Turning my head finally, I watched him through the locks of my hair draped over my arm. It was so hard to digest the fact that such an angelic-looking creature could do so much damage. I studied the curve of his jaw, the tiny little cleft in his chin, the way his thick brown eyelashes drew the gaze towards his amazing eyes. I loved the fact that his mouth was just soft enough to kiss, but still looked so masculine.
    But I hated what he was capable of doing.
    “ I need you to go away for a little while, Alex.”
    His eyebrows drew together in confusion, “But Sarah, I can’t leave you by yourself.”
    Holding up one hand, I shook my head, “A few days. That’s all. I just need a little time.”
    “ You have visitors, Sarah.” Nelly called from the entryway.
    I shot a curious look at Alex and got up. It could not be Michael. When I made it to the front hall, Nelly was standing by the door with an odd look on her face, as if she had seen something she could not quite process.
    “ Who is it?” I asked her.
    When she did not answer, I pulled the door open all the way. Victoria and my mother were standing on the porch. They had cleaned themselves up since the fight, but the expressions on their faces were forbidding. Great. It seemed like the longest night of my life. I took a deep breath and turned to Nelly.
    “ Just go up to bed. I’ll lock everything up.”
    A tinge of anger sparked in her blue eyes, but she kept her head and went upstairs without another word to anyone. I certainly was not expecting it to be that easy. Turning back to my guests, I stepped out onto the porch. Alex had