Darling by Claudia D. Christian

DARLING

    Book 1 of the
Beloved Series

    By Claudia D.
Christian
    Published by DelSin
Publishing, LLC 2011 at Smashwords

    Copyright ©
2011 by Claudia D. Christian

    All rights reserved.
No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means without prior written permission from DelSin
Publishing, LLC. DelSin Publishing, LLC and the author assume no
liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the
information contained herein.

    This is a work of
fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.

    Cover Photo Credit:
Andrey Kiselev
    Cover Design: CGM
Web Designs

    Smashwords Edition
License Notes
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    Table of Contents

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6

    7

    8

    9

    0

    About Claudia

    Other Works
    1

    She was born for
him.

    Loving him, admiring
him, wanting to be his, Cassandra innocently believed she understood
what it would mean to be the Beloved of a Pureblood Vampire King.

    She was wrong.

    ***

    A tall, stunning
brunette burst in with a flurry of silken dresses and matching heels
piled high in her capable arms. “Your lord comes, Mistress
Cassandra! Hurry now or he will see you in disarray!”

    “Lord
Constantine is here, Lenore?” Cassandra lurched up from her
chaise, book forgotten as it hit the stone floor. “Are you
sure?”

    “Yes, yes! Now
hurry!” Lenore set her elegant burden down on the bed. In a
blur, she spread each exquisite dress out along with its delicate
footwear. “Which would one you prefer, Mistress?”

    Cassandra stood up,
anxiety thrumming her limbs but tempered by excitement. “But,
he is not due yet…” She joined the other woman and
attempted to focus on the matter at hand. Cassandra’s attention
jellied.

    He has come back to
me!

    “Of course.
Who else would he come back to?” Lenore waited until the
younger girl composed herself appropriately. Satisfied with
Cassandra’s compliance, she asked, “Would you like this
one?” Lenore’s bejeweled hand pointed to an ornately
beaded hem. “Lord Constantine has such a fine eye for what
would suit you, does he not?”

    Cassandra’s
infatuated grin widened. She attempted to hide it by placing clasped
hands over her rebellious mouth, knowing her companion’s
impatience with her constant lack of poise. “He always takes
such wonderful care of me. I wish I could wear them all at once!”

    “That would be
a strange sight to see.” Lenore shook an artfully curled head
of inky hair. Due to her charge’s childish enthusiasm, she was
never quite sure when Cassandra’s words were meant to be taken
literally.

    “I suppose I
must choose else I shame my lord with my oddity.” Cassandra
measured each gown against one another. All black, their uniqueness
might have gone disregarded by untrained eyes, but she could
appreciate and worship their individual charms. Enamored by the
bounty spread before her, Cassandra paced around the bed, small hand
hovered over each one for a time. Finally she pointed to the lustrous
confection furthest away from her. “The pleated bodice.”

    “You will look
lovely, Mistress. Now come along. It is time for your bath.”

    Like the proverbial
moth to an emerald flame, Cassandra trailed behind her elaborately
dressed caretaker into the bathing chamber. The cavernous room echoed
from the sound of her steps—no matter how dainty she attempted
to make