Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers Book 1) by H. N. Sieverding

came out very snippy and rude. "No." Looking straight ahead
instead of at Robert, Ashleigh took a few very long drinks from her bottle. "My
characters are not real people. Why would I—?"
    There
was a great arrogance in his next words, his nose turning up slightly as he
spoke. "You like Caleb, don’t you?"
    "Well,
yeah, but…" Ashleigh still didn’t turn to him, her eyes burning into the
fireplace in front of her as she tried to keep a lid on her anger. "I
swear the similarities between them are pure coincidence. Lord Drake isn’t—"
    "Coincidence?"
    Cringing
at the sound of Caleb’s voice, Ashleigh closed her eyes and wanted to
disappear. Her face burned, a numbness flowing through her body as her embarrassment
paralyzed her. Caleb had been standing there the entire time, and he had heard
every sentence. Being confronted by the man she had written so many sexual
fantasies about was worse punishment than a vampire’s bite.
    "I
liked that one line…" Caleb was pouring two bottles into a glass, watching
the liquid mix together. “‘I hear your lips whisper I love you, but in my
heart, I know those words are never for me. It’s just a recycled line you coo
to your victims’." A small laugh escaped his lips as he sat down on the
couch. "Sounds a lot like a rock star stealing the hearts of his fans."
    "Are
you going to sue me for copyright or something?" Ashleigh looked over at
Caleb, who was smiling at her with a very cocky expression.
    "No."
He took a drink from his cup, the makeup around his eyes smeared a little, but
he still looked amazing.
    "Now
that you’re done embarrassing me…" Ashleigh went to get up from the couch,
but Caleb touched her knee, and she immediately sat down. Her arms crossed over
her chest, and she glared off to the side as she tried not to cry. "Let’s
please talk about something besides Lord Drake."
    "Do
you love me?" Caleb kept his hand on her knee as he leaned forward and set
his glass on the coffee table. At those words, Ashleigh began to cry in
earnest. Caleb wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "Hey,
I didn’t mean to make you cry."
    "Do
you wish to be alone, Master Mason?" Robert stood up as Caleb motioned for
him to leave. "As you wish." From Caleb’s arms, Ashleigh could hear
the door shutting.
    "I
didn’t mean to embarrass you. I really didn’t." Caleb stroked her hair as
he held her, but her body was tense, and her severe shyness around him didn’t
wear off, even though he was trying to comfort her. "And I’m flattered you
like me enough to base one of your characters on me."
    "You’re
not mad?" Ashleigh was stiff in his arms, and even though she would love
to wrap her arms around him, she didn’t.
    "No."
His hands slipped from around her and went to rest on her shoulders. He pushed
her away from him a little, so he could look into her face. She was still
avoiding his gaze. "I want you, Ashleigh."
    She
looked up at him, not sure what he meant by those words, but knowing what she
wanted him to mean by those words. "What?"
    "I
want to make you a vampire."
    Ashleigh
laughed nervously. "You’re kidding."
    "Why
else would I pay to find you?"
    Her
jaw dropped as she took in his serious expression. "You were the one who
paid Spencer to find me?"
    “Yeah.”
Caleb reached up to her face and pushed back some of her hair, tucking it
behind her ear. "And I never knew Victoria Allure would be so beautiful…perfect."
    "Really?"
She blushed at his touch.
    "Really."
He leaned forward and kissed her, guiding her hands behind his head.
    After
a few seconds, Ashleigh’s shyness quickly melted. She tried to pull him
downward on top of her, but he pulled away. She watched his movements closely
to see what she had done wrong.
    "Wait."
He reached into his mouth, pulled out a set of false teeth, and set them on the
coffee table.
    He
sent her a smile, and she could now see a set of fangs protruding from under
his upper lip. He pushed her backward on the couch, his